Refrigerator and dispenser



.l Aug. A9, 1927.

G. c. BELL REFRIGERATOR ANDv DISPENSER Filed May 5, 1925 2 SheetS-Shet 1 g G. c. BELL REFRIGERATOR AND DISPENSER Filed May s. 1925 2 sheetsfsheet 2 ENTOR GL C'.

w1T NEssEs M 'ATroRNEYs Patented Aug. 9, 1927.

UNITED vSTATES PATENT oFFlcE.

.j GILBERT C. BELL, OFiAUGUSTA, GEORGIA.

n'EFnIGEnATon AND nrsrnusnn- `.Application mcd May 5, 1925.` Serial No. y28,207.4"

. ant'wit-hin the device and so that the articles can be removed from the device without air from the space outside ofthe device gaining entrance thereinto.

A furtherobject of the invention is the provision in a device of the character described of a delivery chamber in open com; munication with a cooling space within the device and fromwhich an article can be removed without communication being established between the cooling space and the` space surrounding-the device.

A further ob'ect fof the invention the provision of' a device of the character described having a delivery chamber 1n open communication with a cooling space within j the device andmeans within the cooling space for causing guided movement` of a` series of bottles or 4like articles so that the outermost article of the series will be moved to position .in the delivery chamber to be removed from the latter.

Other objects and'advantages Iwill be apparent from the following description, considered inconjunction with the accompanying` drawings,lin which igure 1 is a perspective view of a combined refrigerator and dispenser embodying the invention..

Figure-2 1s a section along the line 2- 2 of Figure 1.

. Figure 3 1s a section along the linel 3--3 .ofFigure 2.

Figure 4 is a section along the line ll-4 of Figure 2. A y

A-device embodying` the'invention comprises a. case having a bottom 1,. parallel front andv rear walls 2 and 3 respectively, parallel side walls L and a top or lidv 5 which v may be hinged at'6 to the rear wall 3. The

walls of the case may be formed of any suitable known material and may include layers of heat insulating material, as at 7. The meeting portions of adjacent walls of the case may be secured together in any suitable known manner so as to provide fluid tight joints therebetween. The case may be supported on legs 8 so that the bottom 1 will be substantially horizontal.V

Thebo'ttom 1 yextends beyond the front Yface of -the front wall 2 in the form of a shelf 9 which is yprovided. with an upstanding marginal flange 10 having fluid tight connectionat its ends'with the front wall of the case so thaty any liquid falling upon the shelf 9 will be retained y'between the flange 10 andr the front wall of the case for drainage through a drain pipe 11 which has `the open upper end portion thereof. in communication with a drain opening 12 in the shelf. The drain pipe 11 may extend to any desirable place.

The front wall 2 is shown as being provided wit-h a plurality of spaced apart outlet openings 13, each of whlch preferably i's rectangular in configuration and terminates at its lower end substantially Hush with the upper face of the bottom 1 and at its upper end below the level of the upper end of the front wall 2. ,An article supporting and guiding frame is provided for each of the outlet openings l13 and extendswithin the case on the bottom lfrom the inner end of the outlet opening with which it is associated to the rear wall 3 of the case. Each article supporting and guiding frame' comprises a bottom 14 which rests Iiatwise on the bottom 1 and may be secured to the latter in any suit-able known manner, if desired.

\ Each supporting and guiding frame also Y comprises a pair of vertlcal sldemembers 15 which are upstanding from the longitudinal edges of the bottoms 14 and are coextensive in len h with the latter being joined at letvopening 13 with which theyare associated and being secured at their rear edges to the rear wall 3 in any suitable known manner.

The side kwalls'. 15 ofV each supporting and` their rontcedges tothe front wall 2 of the case atthe sidejedges of the particular outguiding frame terminate at their upper ends at a level considerably below that lof the upper end ofthe space within the case.

he respectivev side members of each supporting and uiding member are formed withv horizontal y aligned guideV slots 16, which extend vlon itudinally of the side members from the orward ends thereof for part of the length of such side members'. The guide slots 16 are provided with outwardly extending flanges 17 and 18 at their upper and lower edges respectively to provide bearing surfaces of `relatively great area for the oppositely extending lateral i at the outer end of the outlet openin slide lugs 19 of a pusher block 20 which is slidable longitudinally of the supporting and guiding frame in which it is disposed in sliding contact with the side members 15 and to and from position to be projected throu h the outlet opening 13 at the outer end o that particular supporting and guiding frame. The slide lugs 19 of each block 20 are provided with laterally offset rearwardly extending rigid attaching arms 21 having laterally turnedrear end portions 22 to which the ,rearward ends of springs 23 are attached. The respective tension springs V23 are disposed at opposite sides of the particular guiding and supporting `frame with which they are associated and are attached at theirforward ends to attaching lugs or ears '24 which extend rearwardly from the front wall 2 of the case at opposite sides of the outlet opening 13 with which they are associated. The tension springs 23 which are connected through the rigid arms 21 with each slide block 20 act to urge that slide block continuously in its supporting and guiding frame to position to extend through the outlet opening 13 lat the outer end of that guiding and supportin frame as shown` at the left hand side of igure 2. Each pusher block 2O has the front face thereof curved concavely in cross sectional contour as indicated at 25 to closely contact with the rear bottle of a series of bottles 26 in the supporting and guiding frame. The respectivebottles will be disposed upright in sliding contact at their lower ends with the bottomA of the supporting and guiding frame in which they are disposed. The action of the outlet openin at the end of the supporting and gui ing rame to a delivery chamber 26 13.

Each delivery chamber 26 has a pair o side Ywalls 27 upstanding lfrom the shelf 9 and being merged at their inner ends into the Iront wall 2 at opposite sides of the outlet opening 13 with which that particular de-` livery chamber is associated, the side walls v27 being merged one into the 'other at their lid or cover 29 that'is hinofedly attache at 30 to the' front wall 2 of t e case. I

The walls 15 of each supporting and guiding frame are formed with perforations 31. The s ace within the case is adapted to hold a sui able refrigerant which may be brine or may be ice and the liquid resultingl from the melting of the ice. 'It will be observed that a relatively wide space is provided midway of the side walls 4 between adjacent supporting and guidingframes to accommodate a relatively large block or piece of ice which may be lowered to position to rest on the bottom 1 when the lid 5 of the case has been raised. A tubular conduitk 32 has an end portion thereof fitting within an opening 1n one of the sidewalls llso that the conduit 32 is in open communication with the space within the case at a level slightly above that of the upper ends of the outlet openings 13. The space within the case therefore is adapted to hold a liquid ,refrigerant to a level slightly above that of the munication between that delivery chamber.

and the space within theycase when the level of liquid within thev case is above the level of the upper .end of the outlet o ening, as at 33 in Figure 3. A liquid seal t us is estab,- lisned between the cooling space within the case and the space outside of the case above helevel of the liquid in thedelivery chamers.

An `article liftingI frame is provided for leach of the delivery chambers 26 and is movable vertically in the latter when the lid 29 .Y

thereof has been raised to lift a bottle o1'v `like article above the level of theliquid in the deliveryvchamber so that the bottle or like article can be conveniently .grasped andl chamber and onto which the outermost bottle or like article of a series will be deposited as a result of the action of the pusher 34: above the level of the upper end of the bottle. The side members of the handle 35 are stayed to each other by an outwardly curved horizontal brace member 36 which extends laterally outward from the side members of the handle or in other words away from the .outlet opening 13 with which the lifter is associated, whereby the horizontalstaying member 36 will engage with the bottle on the bottom 34 intermediate the height of the 'bottle and tend to prevent accidental displacement of the bottle from the lifter. YEach delivery chamber, preferablyv is provided with stop members, not shown; for limiting the upward movement of the lifter therewithin so that the lifter cannot be completely removed from the d'e.- livery chamber.

A drain'` cock 37 is in communication with the cooling space within the case at the lower end of the latter.

A removable tray 38 may be supported within the case above the level of the refrigerant. therewithin, as for example on supporting strips 39 which are secured to certain of the vertical walls of the case in any suitable known manner. The tray 38 of course is adapted to support various articles, such as food stuffs, wlthin the case.

From the foregoing 'description of thev various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. A series of articles, such as the bottles B is placed in each of the supporting and guiding frames and the outermostl article of the series will be moved automatically to position onthe lifter within the delivery chamber at the outer end of the supporting and guiding frame. on which that particular series of ar.

by manipula-,tion of the lifter which is within that delivery chamber .without any relativelywarm air from the space outside of the case being admitted to the cooling chamber. As the outermost article of each series removed from the delivery chamber, the next article of the series will be moved outwardly through the outlet opening 13 intoV the delivery chamber, but this movement of the next article to position into the deliver)r chamber cannot be effected until the lifter for that delivery chamber has been lowered until the bottom portion of the lifter is positioned below the lower end of the article that is to be moved .into the delivery chamber. Any liquid dripping from the bottle will fall upon the drainage shelf 9 and thence will pass through the drain opening 12. I

I claim 1. A device of the character describe comprising a case having a lateral outlet opening, a ydelivery chamber at the outer end of the outlet opening in open communication with the latter, said delivery chamber extending above the level of the up er end of the outlet opening and said de ivery chamber and said case being adapted to hold a liquid refrigerant to a level above that of the upperA end of said outlet opening, a supporting and guiding frame extending within the case from the inner end of theloutlet. opening, said frame comprising a bottom member and a air of spaced apart upstanding side mem ers between which a series of articles can move to position to pass one at a time through said outlet opening, said side members being apertured, a drainage shelf at the lower end of said delivery chamber, said drainage shelf having an upstanding marginal flange and a drain opening.

2. A device of the character described comprising a case having a lateral outlet opening, a delivery chamber at the outer end of the outlet opening, said delivery chamber and said casing being adapted to hold a liquid to a level above that of the up er end of the outlet opening, means wit in the case to receive articles one at. a time through the outlet opening into the delivery chamber, anda tubular conduit having the upper end thereof in communication with t the' space within the case above the level IMU luf:

of the upper end of the outlet opening and Y below the level of the upper ejnd of the "delivery chamber.

3. In a device of the character described, an article supporting and guiding frame comprising a horizontal bottom member on which a series of upright substantially cylindrical articles can be placed, a pair of upstanding side members at. the edges of saidv bottom member for preventing appreciable laterall movement of saidv articles, said side members having longitudinally extendin horizontally alignedl slots, a pusher b ock movable longitudinally of said lll) block having o posi'tely extending lateral slide lugs exten ing through said slots, said pusher blocks having its face that is next to said articles concavely curved transversely of the block to conform to the curvature of the adjacent article, and tension springs connected with said lugs and tending to urge said pusher block along saidpl supporting and guiding frame against, said series of articles.

GLBERT o. BELL'. 

